DIY Beach Themed Bridal Shower

My cousin will be getting married in just a few short weeks (January) in the Dominican Republic!! As Maid of Honor it was my duty to throw her an amazing shower, with the help of others of course! The shower was hosted at my parents' house in Tulsa, OK. I thought since she is getting married in the Dominican then we would make her shower beached themed, but still keep it classy. Here are some pictures below to inspire your next beached themed party.

On the menu:

Sex on the beach punch with umbrella straws

Chips with guacamole and salsa

Shrimp kabobs

Fruit Salad

Wild rice and black beans

Roasted sweet potatoes

Teriyaki meat balls

&

Pina Colada Cupcakes...huge crowd pleaser!!

We purchased a net from Hobby Lobby and strung it across the window in the dining room. We used mini clothes pins to pin all different pictures of the bride and groom to be! (mainly beach photos)

Note: If the sun is shining the pictures are hard to see

Take aways from the Shower:

Courtney, another bridesmaid, came up with the CUTEST idea! We gave each person a wrap bracelet in the colors of the wedding (the bride got blue, as her something blue).  

Each tag has been engraved with the exact latitude and longitude of where the vows will be exchange.

We asked everyone to take one and to wear them on January 14. We know that not everyone will be able to attend the actual wedding, but now they can be there in spirit!

We also gave seashell chocolates as well...yummy! 

The shower was a great success and we all had a wonderful time! I hope some of these ideas inspire you for your next beach themed party!

The bride with some of her bridesmaids (cousin & sister-in-law)

-Jane

NYE Party Planning

This year we have opted out of an over-priced bar celebration for New Years Eve, and our friends are doing our own little "Progressive Party" with a bus to drive us around! Our house is the first stop, and of course our decorations need to be top notch. Where else to look for ideas, than Pinterest!

Here are some fun party decoration ideas we have come across:

We even found this web site for some fun NYE printables . Will you be decorating your place for NYE??

Dijon Chicken Linguine with Mushrooms

For me, you can't go wrong with any pasta recipe that includes chicken and mushrooms! Probably why i knew this recipe would be a success! I changed it a little: different mushrooms, left off the almonds, and added a little parsley for color.

Ingredients

350 gram package of linguine (this is a little less than a full lb. package, or you can just use the whole thing)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3 Tbsp olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

salt & pepper

4 oz white wine

2 cups whipping cream

3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and fry the chicken until completely cooked. Remove from the pan and hold in a warm oven (or microwave).

Add the white wine to the pan, and simmer until reduced by half.

Add the whipping cream, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to season. Simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon.

Return the chicken to the sauce, add the mushrooms and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

Serve over cooked linguine. Add chopped parsley if desired. Enjoy!

-Whitney

XMAShup Monday- Christmas

Happy Monday! Just 5 more days until Christmas.....so here are some Xmas mashups to get you in the mood!

DUCK SAUCE vs THE LOOSE CANONS- Christmas, Barbara Christmas

A SKILLZ- White Christmas Remix

A Christmas Mashup

DJ PAUL V.- Merry Christmas 2U

DJ WHOQUESTION- A Million Nutcrackers

It's Friday!

As much as i despise the song....I agree with this kid!

Hope you have a great weekend gettin' down!

DIY Hanging Xmas Pine Cones

We still had our fall wreath up on our front door on Sunday, and I figured that needed to be taken down! We spent so much time decorating the inside and the outside of our house for Xmas, we neglected the front door. 

We have a lot of crafts going right now, mostly for Christmas gifts, so we needed something quick and easy. Our house should be in a Hobby Lobby ad right now, you can't even tell we have a dining room table because it's covered with all sorts of craft scraps, hot glue guns, gifts, wrapping paper, you name it!

I remembered seeing a  DIY project with hanging pine cones on Pinterest, so I went with it! We had all of the supplies at home, and it took only about 5 minutes.

All you need is:

ribbon (i used some Christmas colored ribbon we already had)

pine cones

hot glue gun

wreath hanger, or some way of hanging it from your door

Cut your ribbon to different sizes and collect them all together, evening them out at one end.

Tie another ribbon in a bow around all of the ribbons that you gathered, holding them together (the green ribbon is the one i used to tie mine together)

Put a rather large amount of hot glue in the top of each pine cone and attach the bottom of each ribbon to it. Be careful pushing the ribbon down onto the hot glue, it's thin and the hot glue could burn you through it!

Once you have glued all of your cones on, let the glue dry for a minute or two. Attach a small hook or ring to your ribbon that is tied in a bow, and hang it from your wreath hanger. You could also  just hang it from a nail without a hook or a ring.

-Whitney

Can't Get Enough

I cannot stop listening to this song.  It seems fitting for this damp yet warm day we have here in KC.  Enjoy!

The music video makes this song even better.

-Megan